By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent
Published: 27 May 2007
A new health scare erupted over soft drinks last night amid evidence
they may cause serious cell damage. Research from a British university
suggests a common preservative found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi
Max has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA.

The problem - more usually associated with ageing and alcohol abuse
- can eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver and degenerative diseases
such as Parkinson's.

The findings could have serious consequences for the hundreds of millions
of people worldwide who consume fizzy drinks. They will also intensify
the controversy about food additives, which have been linked to hyperactivity
in children.

Concerns centre on the safety of E211, known as sodium benzoate, a preservative
used for decades by the £74bn global carbonated drinks industry.
Sodium benzoate derives from benzoic acid. It occurs naturally in berries,
but is used in large quantities to prevent mould in soft drinks such as
Sprite, Oasis and Dr Pepper. It is also added to pickles and sauces.

Sodium benzoate has already been the subject of concern about cancer
because when mixed with the additive vitamin C in soft drinks, it causes
benzene, a carcinogenic substance. A Food Standards Agency survey of benzene
in drinks last year found high levels in four brands which were removed
from sale.

Now, an expert in ageing at Sheffield University, who has been working
on sodium benzoate since publishing a research paper in 1999, has decided
to speak out about another danger. Professor Peter Piper, a professor of
molecular biology and biotechnology, tested the impact of sodium benzoate
on living yeast cells in his laboratory. What he found alarmed him: the
benzoate was damaging an important area of DNA in the "power station" of
cells known as the mitochondria.

He told The Independent on Sunday: "These chemicals have the ability
to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they
totally inactivate it: they knock it out altogether.

"The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you
damage it - as happens in a number if diseased states - then the cell starts
to malfunction very seriously. And there is a whole array of diseases that
are now being tied to damage to this DNA - Parkinson's and quite a lot
of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing."

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) backs the use of sodium benzoate in
the UK and it has been approved by the European Union but last night, MPs
called for it to investigate urgently.

Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat chair of Parliament's all-party environment
group said: "Many additives are relatively new and their long-term impact
cannot be certain. This preservative clearly needs to be investigated further
by the FSA."

A review of sodium benzoate by the World Health Organisation in 2000
concluded that it was safe, but it noted that the available science supporting
its safety was "limited".

Professor Piper, whose work has been funded by a government research
council, said tests conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration were
out
of date.

"The food industry will say these compounds have been tested and they
are complete safe," he said. "By the criteria of modern safety testing,
the safety tests were inadequate. Like all things, safety testing moves
forward and you can conduct a much more rigorous safety test than you could
50 years ago."

He advised parents to think carefully about buying drinks with preservatives
until the quantities in products were proved safe by new tests. "My concern
is for children who are drinking large amounts," he said.

Coca-Cola and Britvic's Pepsi Max and Diet Pepsi all contain sodium
benzoate. Their makers and the British Soft Drinks Association said they
entrusted the safety of additives to the Government.